Women's Cup - Acers coach admits Hatters were too strong
14th December 2009by Dave Ryan
London Heathrow Acers 49 - City of Sheffield Hatters 85
Sheffield Hatters reached their sixth straight National Cup final with a comfortable 85-49 victory at London Heathrow Acers on Saturday.
Paula Schweikert was the only Acers player in double figures as they hosted 12-times winners Hatters. The home side knew that they would have to produce outstanding form to prevent Sheffield reaching their 20th final, but it wasn't to be.
After the fourth minute of the game, the visitors took full advantage of turnovers and never looked back. Ten unanswered points by the Hatters and missed Acers' shots from the foul line saw the visitors lead 22-9 at the first break. By half time the lead had increased to 49-26, as Acers found it difficult to stop Lisa Hutchinson. With seven points, nine rebounds and eight assists, the GB point guard was the inspiration for the Hatters.
"Hutchinson is a very smart player," said Acers coach Terry Webb. "She controlled the tempo of the game, distributed the ball with ease and really made the Hatters tick."
Faced with the task of chasing down a 21-point deficit, Acers tried to step up the intensity on defence, but they paid the price as Hatters went to the charity stripe 13 times, converting 11 of them. Da Silva, Flo Piano and Schweikert found some form from in the third, but it was too little too late.
The lead grew to 71-45 at the final break before Hatters wrapped up their final spot with a 16-4 fourth period.
"We competed well at times, but too often we slipped back into bad habits, not moving on offense, turning the ball over at important stages of the game - Sheffield thrive on turnovers, their transition is excellent," said Webb. "By the fourth quarter we had run out of steam."